Fast Facts

Location
800 Florida Avenue, NE
Washington, DC 20002-3695
www.gallaudet.edu

Founded
Gallaudet University, the world's only university in which all programs and services are specifically designed to accommodate deaf and hard of hearing students, was founded in 1864 by an Act of Congress, and its charter was signed by President Abraham Lincoln.

President's Cabinet

• Dr. Alan Hurwitz, President
• Dr. Stephen Weiner, Provost
• Paul Kelly, Vice President for Administration and Finance
• Edward Bosso, Vice President for Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center
• Donald Beil, Chief of Staff
• Dr. Cynthia King, Chief Information Officer (interim)
• Dr. Richard Lytle, Special Assistant to the President and Executive Director, Stragtegic Planning
• Deborah DeStefano, Special Assistant to the President, Operations and Board Liaison
• Dr. Catherine Andersen, Associate Provost, Enrollment Management
• Dr. Ann Powell, Associate Provost, Diversity (interim)
• Dr. David Armstrong, Executive Director, Gallaudet Press and External Affairs
• Fred Weiner, Executive Director, Program Development
  

Academic Officers

• Dr. Stephen Weiner, Provost
• Dr. Catherine F. Andersen, Associate Provost, Enrollment Managemet
• Dr. Ann Powell, Associate Provost, Diversity (interim)
• Dr. Isaac Agboola, Dean, College of Liberal Arts, Sciences, and Technologies
• Dwight Benedict, Dean, Student Affairs
• Dr. Carol Erting, Dean, Graduate School and Professional Programs
• Dr. Joseph Innes, Dean, College of Professional Studies and Outreach
• Dr. Patricia L. Hulsebosch, Executive Director, Office of Academic Quality and Planning

Programs
Deaf and hard of hearing undergraduate students can choose from more than 40 majors leading to a bachelor of arts or a bachelor of science degree. The University also admits a small number of hearing, degree-seeking undergraduate students--up to 5 percent of an entering class. Undergraduate students also have the option of designing their own majors, called "self-directed majors," in which they select classes from a variety of departments at Gallaudet or take courses offered at 13 other institutions of higher learning that are members of the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area.

Graduate programs, open to deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing students, include a master of arts or a master of science degree, specialist degree, certificates, and doctoral degrees in a variety of fields involving professional service provision to deaf and hard of hearing people.

Gallaudet University offers exemplary educational programs to deaf and hard of hearing students at all learning levels. The Kendall Demonstration Elementary School (KDES) serves infants and their parents and continues service through the eighth grade. The Model Secondary School for the Deaf (MSSD) offers programs for students in grades nine through 12. Both of these schools are part of the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center, which has a federal mandate to develop and disseminate innovative curriculum, materials, and teaching strategies to schools and programs nationwide.

Technology
Gallaudet is a leader in uses of technology in its academic programs and services. Approximately 94 percent of courses at Gallaudet have an online component and virtually all students take at least one course using the Blackboard online learning system. Such technology integration is double the average of universities nationwide. Many courses make extensive use of video, including video recordings of classes (examples online at presentations.gallaudet.edu) and a video library (videocatalog.gallaudet.edu). Many student and campus organizations conduct business or share information online through the my.Gallaudet portal. Students are encouraged to bring a computer to campus. Microsoft software is available at a discounted price.

For students interested in technology careers, majors in graphic arts, digital media, computer science, and computer information systems are available. Students have access to two central computer labs, as well as more than 15 departmental computer labs. Most classrooms are outfitted with computers, projectors, DVD/VCRs, and other technologies. All buildings on campus have wireless network access. In addition, Gallaudet Interpreting Service, in partnership with Sorenson Communications, offers Sorenson Video Relay Service (SVRS) to Gallaudet University and the Washington metropolitan area. SVRS, with its state-of-the-art technology and highly skilled interpreters, is the most popular VRS provider today.

Research
Gallaudet has a unique obligation to contribute knowledge and scholarship likely to benefit deaf and hard of hearing people, especially in the areas of education and human services. Accordingly, the Gallaudet Research Institute conducts studies related to demographics and assessment of deaf and hard of hearing people in the educational system, as well as language and learning processes, and engages students in research, while stimulating and supporting work directed towards priorities consistent with Gallaudet's national mission and internal strategic objectives.

Research is a key component of Gallaudet's mission as a university. Faculty pursue a full range of research interests related to their own academic disciplines. Major grant support includes research, development, and training programs in visual language and learning, access to communication for deaf and hard of hearing people, genetics, and technology assessment.

Public Service
Last year, Gallaudet served more than 40,800 individuals through conferences, leadership institutes, professional studies and extension courses, sign language classes, American Sign Language (ASL)/English bilingual education, enrichment and youth programs, international programs, and its regional centers (Mid-Atlantic-Gallaudet University, Washington, D.C.;Midwest-Johnson County Community College, Kansas; Northeast-Northern Essex Community College, Massachusetts; Pacific-Kapi'olani Community College, Hawaii; Southeast-Flagler College, Florida; and West-Ohlone College, California).

In fulfilling its national mission role via training and technical assistance, information dissemination, and exhibits and performances, the Clerc Center served over 62,000 people and disseminated approximately 220,000 educational products in 2008. In addition, the Clerc Center recorded over 2,700,000 visits to its website last year.

Enrollment
In the fall of 2009, 1,870 students were enrolled: 1,055 undergraduates, 429 graduates, and 296 professional studies students. International students comprise six percent of the degree-seeking student body. Fall 2009 enrollment at the demonstration schools was 105 students at KDES and 151 at MSSD.

Alumni
Gallaudet University has more than 15,000 alumni around the world. The Gallaudet University Alumni Association, organized in 1889, has 53 chapters. According to a survey conducted by the University, 85 percent of the Gallaudet undergraduate students respondents who graduated between September 2004 and August 2005 are either employed or furthering their education; 100 percent of the survey respondents of alumni who graduated with graduate degrees during the same time frame are employed or furthering their education.

Employees
The University and its Clerc Center have 1,089 employees, 45.6 percent of whom are deaf or hard of hearing. A total of 255 employees are faculty members or teachers.

Annual *University Tuition and Fees (2009-2010)

Funding
Total revenues and other support for FY 2009 were $169,110,121.

Endowment
As of the end of FY 2009, the University's endowment was $137 million.

Fundraising
Gallaudet welcomes tax-deductible contributions from individuals, businesses, foundations, and organizations in support of University initiatives and priorities, including scholarships, program enhancements and development, and renovation projects. Please visit the Development Office website for more information about philanthropic support for Gallaudet, including opportunities to make a gift in memory or in honor of a loved one.

Community Impact
Gallaudet is one of the area's largest businesses, with direct salaries, wages, and benefits totaling more than $113.3 million in FY 2008. The University spent another $55.3 million on goods and services and $6 million on capital improvements. Since 1992, Gallaudet has constructed five buildings and renovated 21 others. In 2003, the District of Columbia's Zoning Commission approved Gallaudet's Facilities Master Plan, the University's vision for campus development for 2002 to 2012.

Accreditation
Gallaudet Universityis accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. Many of the University's professional preparation programs are also accredited by their respective nationally recognized, specialized professional association organizations. MSSD and KDES are dually accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and the Conference of Educational Administrators for Schools and Programs for the Deaf.

Publications
Gallaudet produces and distributes a broad range of print and multimedia materials related to the education of deaf people, as well as other issues, for use inside and outside the classroom. The Gallaudet University Press is the world's largest publisher of books related to deaf and hard of hearing people. The campus is kept up-to-date on information about Gallaudet through the student newsletter, The Buff and Blue, and the Office of Public Relations' faculty and staff newsletter, On the Green. Information is also regularly available to the campus community through the Inside Gallaudet and Daily Digest online news services from the Office of Public Relations. All members of the campus, life members of the Gallaudet University Alumni Association, and subscribers receive Gallaudet Today, which the Office of Public Relations publishes. The Clerc Center publishes World Around You, for deaf and hard of hearing teens, and Odyssey magazine, which features  articles about a wide range of issues important to families, educators, and professionals working with deaf and hard of hearing children. The University's Office of Enrollment Services publishes the tri-annual newsletter, Gallaudet University Link for prospective students. American Annals of the Deaf, the official publication of the Conference of Educational Administrators of Schools and Programs for the Deaf and the Convention of American Instructors of the Deaf, is housed within the Gallaudet University Press.

Additional Services

• Information and referrals related to children and youth up to age 21 are provided by the Clerc Center's Office of Public Relations, Products, and Training, (202) 651-5051 (Voice/TTY). Other requests for information about issues related to deaf and hard of hearing people are responded to by the Gallaudet University Office of Marketing and Public Relations, (202) 651-5050 (Voice/TTY).
• The Career Center's mission is to help students reach their career goals by integrating a liberal education with professional experience in the marketplace. The centerpiece of this effort is the internship experience, which provides students with access to a wide range of experiential learning opportunities. Career Center services include individual career and job search advising, on-campus recruiting, job fairs, and a career resource library. The Career Center educates and empowers students to practice lifelong career management skills and achieve success in the professional world.
• The Gerald "Bummy" Burstein Leadership Institute (BLI) is an entity uniquely qualified to provide deaf and hard of hearing individuals with leadership development programming specifically tailored to their personal and professional needs and, through the University's consortium of regional programs, to extend those programs across the nation. The BLI also addresses acute leadership shortages in education and social service professions, including deaf-centric for-profit and non-profit agencies and corporations.
• The Language Planning Institute (LPI), through its Center for ASL/English Bilingual Education and Research, focuses on the development of curricula used in training educators at schools for deaf people and universities across the country in the effective use of ASL and English bilingual approach for educating deaf and hard of hearing students. LPI also offers a variety of credit and non-credit courses and training opportunities for students, parents, professionals, and other interested individuals for learning ASL. Classes include instruction in ASL I-VI, Visual Gestural Communication, and ASL special topic areas, and can be designed to meet the needs of a specific professional discipline or audience.
• The Hearing and Speech Center provides comprehensive speech, language, and audiology services to Gallaudet students, faculty, and staff, and to clients in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. These services include hearing and hearing aid evaluations, hearing aid dispensing, assistive devices evaluations, speech-language evaluations and therapy, communication therapy, and speech reading classes.
• The Cochlear Implant Education Center (CIEC), a unit of the Clerc Center, investigates and evaluates effective practices related to cochlear implant technology and its role in the education and lives of deaf children from birth through high school, especially the role of sign language for children with cochlear implants. The CIEC serves students and families enrolled at KDES and MSSD and provides resource support at the national level. For further information, contact Debra Nussbaum, coordinator, at debra.nussbaum@gallaudet.edu, or (202) 651-5638 (TTY/Voice).
• The Center for International Programs and Services, a unit of the College of Professional Studies and Outreach, comprises four units--Global Education and Scholar Services, which offers a broad range of services and activities for students, faculty, and professionals at Gallaudet seeking to enhance their learning and expertise through opportunities to apply their knowledge internationally, and to provide short- and long-term programs for visiting students, scholars, researchers, and professionals who are interested in coming to Gallaudet; the English Language Institute, which provides comprehensive immersion programs in English as a Second Language to international and American students, as well as ASL and cultural studies courses, to enable students to gain proficiency in English and ASL in order to qualify for admission to Gallaudet or other U.S. universities, and to thrive in their studies; International Student Services, which works in cooperation with other departments and units of the University to ensure that all international students and scholars are in compliance with currant immigration regulations; and International Outreach, a unit through which faculty and staff members reach out to the world through projects or training in order to improve education for deaf and hard of hearing people around the globe. 
• Summer Programs at Gallaudet provides an array of academic and enrichment programs for high school and college students, professionals, and other interested individuals. Programs include graduate and undergraduate general studies and professional development courses, ASL and interpreter education classes, and camps for middle and high school youth.
• Gallaudet offers a wide variety of academic and student services designed to meet the needs of students and deaf and hard of hearing youth. Specficially, the College of Professional Studies and Outreach offers academic and recreational programs for middle school and high school students year round, including the Academic Bowl, Youth Scholars Programs, Sports Camps, and enrichment classes.
• The Office of Diversity and Equity for Students (ODES) provides multicultural and educational experiences and academic support programs to enrich the college life of all Gallaudet students. ODES focuses on the unique needs of multicultural students and strives to facilitate a campus climate that supports their academic success. ODES is composed of two units: Keeping the Promise (KTP) and the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs (OMSA). KTP focuses on the education of black deaf males and deaf Latino students. The KTP program model applies to other multicultural student groups.  OMSA includes three major initiatives: Multicultural Student Programs, Peer Mentoring, and Intergroup Dialogues.